Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 09 November 2015

:: National ::

Two-third majority for Nitish-Lalu GrandAlliance

As the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Prasad duo led the Grand Alliance on Sunday to a historic, thumping two-thirds majority, even reviving its junior partner, the Congress, the BJP-led NDA bit the dust — and the curtain came down on what must rate as one of the most bitterly fought Assembly elections in Bihar.
Conscious that this victory would resonate through the country, influencing politics in other parts, Chief Minister and JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar — com-posed but clearly moved by the extent of the mandate — said: “The Bihar 2015 poll will always be remembered as a milestone in the electoral politics of the State; it reflected the national mood.” Mr. Kumar said the poll would be remembered as one where the “party at the Centre had put all its re-sources into an Assembly election.”
Seat share in Bihar election saw RJD comes out as single largest party with 80 seats followed by JD(U) at 71 seats and BJP got 53seats.

Alarming rise in ground-ozone levels

When it’s protecting us from harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun at higher altitudes, ozone is great. But at ground-level, the gas is classified as an air pollutant that poses serious health risks, and its increase in Delhi has experts alarmed.
Ozone is not found naturally at ground-level; it is a product of a reaction of oxygen, volatile hydrocarbons and the oxides of nitrogen, which are emitted by vehicles. It tends to peak during the high temperatures of summer.
An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) of summertime ozone levels in April-May this year found that the hourly levels at Lodhi Estate, a green and posh part of the city, had peaked at “close to three times the standard.
“Even when there has been intermittent rain that brought down the temperature and blocked the sun, thus reducing ozone levels, the gas would bounce back very quickly after the rains were over,” said the CSE report.
Targeting the cause of ground-level ozone, the Delhi Government is monitoring particulate matter in the air such as dust and smoke. “Ozone is dangerous at lower levels of the atmosphere, especially in smoggy conditions. But we are not monitoring it specifically, as we are already monitoring the factors that cause it, like nitrogen oxides,” said Delhi Government Environment and Forest Secretary Ashwani Kumar.
Doctors accept that awareness about the adverse health effects of ozone is not widespread. “But this doesn’t stop the rampage of that growing air pollution is causing to the health of city dwellers. We are seeing a steep rise in respiratory problems,” said Dr. Anil Bansal from Delhi Medical Association.
Studies have shown that the upper respiratory tract isn’t as effective in scrubbing ozone from the air that we inhale, as other pollutants like sulphur dioxide or chlorine gas, which are more soluble in water.
The majority of the ozone inhaled reaches the lower respiratory tract and dissolves into a thin layer of epithelial lining fluid throughout the conducting airways of the lung thus damaging it, according to scientific papers.

65 public servants convicted in Haryana

As many as 65 public servants have been convicted in 51 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Haryana in the last one year. “Keeping in view the State government’s commitment towards providing good governance by putting a check on corruption, 65 public servants and eight others have been convicted in 51 cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act between October 26, 2014 and October 18, 2015,” a State Vigilance Bureau spokesperson said.
A total of 213 cases have been registered by the Bureau during this period and raids were conducted in relation to 190 of these cases, he said. Between this time period, 124 inquiries were registered of which 80 havebeen finalised.
On the basis of these inquiries, 23 cases have been registered against public servants, the spokesperson said. Detailing enhanced measures taken by Haryana Government during the first year of its tenure, he said Chief Vigilance officers were appointed in all departments and reports were sent to the government for change in procedures to stop or curtail avenues for corruption.
Moreover, 151 source reports were generated against public servants for malpractices. A large number of these reports were sent to the departments concerned for action, the spokesperson added.

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:: International ::

Pak. in a losing nuclear race: NYT

Persuading Pakistan to re-in in its nuclear weapons programme should be an international priority, accord-ing to The New York Times. In an editorial published on November 7, the American daily said Islamabad's competition with India, “which is adding to its own nuclear arsenal, is a losing game”.
At present, Pakistan is spending about 25 per cent of its budget on de-fence. Reining in its nuclear operations would be in the country's long-term interest, the editorial said. “It cannot provide adequate services for its citizens” because of the huge allocation for defence.
Pakistan's official position is that it needs more nuclear weapons to counter India's conventional arsenal. It's expected to become the world's third largest nuclear power with as many as 120 warheads, behind the U.S. and Russia.
Last month, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary had told a news briefing in Washington that Islamabad had built low-yield nu-clear weapons, or tactical nuclear weapons, “to counter Indian aggression”. Such weapons “are more likely to be used in a conflict with India and could more easilyfall into the hands of terrorists…,” added the editorial.

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:: Business And Economy ::

Government considers Africa route to help central PSUs

The Centre is considering a plan to help the Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), including those of them incurring losses, set up subsidiaries or form joint ventures with State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in poor African countries.
The proposal has been moved by the department of public enterprises (DPE) of the heavy industries and public enterprises (HI & PE) ministry, and is currently being considered by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), official sources told
DPE wants the MEA to influence African countries, especially those with hardly any private capital investment currently, to replicate the ‘Nehruvian' post-independence period industrial policy of India that heavily favoured SOEs.
For such a policy, the DPE, as per its proposal, wants these African countries to reserve several sectors for SOEs so that these CPSEs can operate in a near monopolistic environment for about 15-20 years, the sources said.
The new plan is to ask the MEA to convene a special meeting of all the African high commissioners / senior diplomats stationed in Delhi and elicit their views on the strategy.
On its part, the HI & PE ministry will shortly call a meeting of CPSUs to discuss the idea.
The development comes even as the Centre has identified 58 loss-making PSUs for either reviving or closing them down, and has been holding inter-ministerial consultations to chalk out a viable strategy. It is also planning to raise Rs.69, 500 crore from disinvestment of PSUs this year. Africa is not entirely a new playing ground for Indian PSUs, especially for those in the energy sector. Indian privatecompanies including Bharti Air-tel and the Tata Group also have their presence in several African countries.
However, India is far behind China in this game. China-Africa trade has surpassed $200 billion, and is almost thrice as large as the about $70 billion for India-Africa trade. By 2020, China aims to double its trade with Africa to $400 billion and increase direct in-vestment to $100 billion.

:: Science And Technology ::

For saving Asian vulture from fatal drugs

After successfully campaigning for the ban on multi-dose vials of painkiller drug diclofenac in veterinary use, conservationists have stepped up pressure for withdrawing two more drugs, which they say, are fatal for Asian vultures.
It was recently that the authorities slapped a ban on the 30 ml multi-dose vials of the drug, which was largely responsible for the decline of the vultures, which used to feed on bovine carcasses.
The bird conservationists pointed out that “twenty years ago there were tens of millions of vultures in the Indian sub-continent. They provided a valuable ecosystem service by disposing of millions of tonnes of waste carrion from dead cattle each year.
Nowthey, and the services they provided, are nearly all gone,” according a publication of Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction (SAVE), a consortium of eleven organisations.
The “three species of Gyps vultures endemic to South and Southeast Asia, oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), long-billed vulture (G. indicus) and slender-billed vulture (G. tenuirostris), are the worst affected and are threatened with glob-al extinction after rapid population declines, which began in the mid-1990s.

:: Sports ::

Warriors trump Blasters in opener

The chants of ‘Sachin, Sachin' filled the air but Sachin Tendulkar could not trump Shane Warne's magic as the Indian icon's Blasters went down to the Australian legend's Warriors in the first ‘Cricket All Stars' Twenty20 here.
Tendulkar was the undisputed favourite for the largely Asian crowd at a baseball stadium here but it was Warne, who weaved some old-time magic to lead his side to a six-wicket win. Set a target of 141, the Warriors romped home with 16 balls to spare after Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara hit 81 runs between them.
Shane Warne snared three wickets, including that of Tendulkar and the legendary Brian Lara. For the Blasters, Virender Sehwag hit the series' first half-century which came of just 22 deliveries. Electing to field after wining the toss, the Blasters were given a rollicking start by Tendulkar and Sehwag, much to the delight of an expatriate crowd that filled the stands.
Together, the former Indian batsman raked in 85 runs in a mere 48 deliveries. However, the rest of the star-studded line-up failed to come good and the team ended with 140 for eight.
For Warriors, Warne showed he had lost none of the famed magic with figures of three for 20 in his four overs. In reply, Ponting (48 not out) and Sangakkara (41) steered the Warriors home after a top-order collapse.